Microsoft is considering DeepSeek V4 as the engine for a cheaper version of Copilot Cowork, a sign that the company is getting serious about AI costs instead of just talking about them. The current product runs on OpenAI and Anthropic models, but Microsoft says heavy usage can push expenses up fast, and it wants to keep Copilot useful without letting margins get shredded.
The move would fit a broader pattern in enterprise AI: the expensive premium model is not always the one customers need. If Microsoft can swap in a lower-cost model without making Copilot feel flimsy, it gets a better business case and more room to price aggressively against rivals that are also chasing corporate AI budgets.
A cheaper Copilot could arrive in weeks
Charles Lamanna, Microsoft’s executive vice president for Copilot, agents, and platform, told Axios that the company plans to release the cheaper version in the coming weeks. Microsoft has not said which model will power it, but DeepSeek is clearly in the frame after its recent surge in enterprise AI. The company was listed as one of the fastest-growing software vendors in June 2026 in the corporate AI services category.
- Current Copilot Cowork models: OpenAI and Anthropic
- Possible new option: DeepSeek V4
- Expected timing: in the coming weeks
Why DeepSeek V4 is suddenly attractive
DeepSeek has been leaning hard into price. It recently cut the price of its flagship V4-Pro by 75%, which makes the Chinese startup hard to ignore for companies trying to build AI products at scale. That kind of pricing pressure is exactly the sort of thing that makes premium model providers nervous, and it gives Microsoft a plausible fallback if Copilot demand keeps climbing.
There is also a geopolitical wrinkle. U.S. authorities have reportedly held off on adding DeepSeek, memory-chip maker CXMT, and more than 100 other companies to a trade blacklist. That does not guarantee anything for Microsoft, but it does show the company is operating in a space where cost, speed, and policy are all colliding at once.
OpenAI and Anthropic are no longer untouchable
For Microsoft, the interesting part is not just the possible switch. It is the message that OpenAI and Anthropic are no longer the only serious options for a flagship enterprise assistant. If Microsoft can build a cheaper Copilot without visibly downgrading the experience, the rest of the market will have to answer an awkward question: why pay more for the same workflow?
The next test is simple. Microsoft says a cheaper Copilot Cowork is coming soon, but whether DeepSeek V4 actually ends up inside it will tell us how far the company is willing to go to trim AI costs without dulling the product.